WanLi Jeju Casino delays grand opening pending Sheraton Jeju Hotel ramp-up

WanLi Jeju Casino has completed a soft launch but has not fixed a date for a full "grand opening" while it waits for the linked Sheraton Jeju Hotel to make more rooms available and operate smoother, the casino's chief operating officer Vincent Loi told GGRAsia. The gaming venue began its soft opening on September 2, 2026, and the refreshed Sheraton Jeju Hotel — a revamp of the former Ramada Plaza by Wyndham Jeju Ocean Front — reopened on September 14, 2026.

Opening timeline and linked hotel condition

The operator has separated the casino's commercial launch from the hotel's operational readiness. Vincent Loi said the full opening depends on the Sheraton Jeju Hotel running "more smoothly" and having its guest-room inventory fully available. The Sheraton has about 400 keys after the revamp, but not all rooms are online yet, Mr Loi confirmed to GGRAsia.

That sequencing matters because the two facilities operate as a single integrated offering on Jeju Island: the hotel provides accommodation for inbound leisure and VIP customers, and the casino relies on aligned room inventory and guest services to support a larger-scale opening.

Casino configuration at soft launch

WanLi Jeju Casino, a foreigner-only venue on Jeju, relaunched from the onsite former Gongzi Casino and started operations with a mass-play focus during the September soft opening. Since September 2 the venue has been operating 44 gaming tables, of which roughly 70% — 30 tables — are dedicated to baccarat, Mr Loi said. Of those 30 baccarat tables, 18 are reserved for VIP play.

The venue's table games mix also includes Texas hold’em poker, blackjack, and the Chinese card game Niu Niu, Mr Loi added. The current configuration reflects an emphasis on mass-market baccarat while preserving product for higher-stakes customers through the VIP allocation.

Hotel revamp and its role

The Sheraton Jeju Hotel is the rebranded iteration of the former Ramada Plaza by Wyndham Jeju Ocean Front. The property reopened on September 14 following a revamp that aligns the hotel brand with the casino operator’s strategy for inbound customers. Mr Loi said the hotel had seen a "positive" booking trend for the upcoming October Golden Week holiday, a key outbound travel period for mainland Chinese.

Golden Week in China runs from October 1 to October 7, 2026, and was preceded this year by the Mid-Autumn Festival from September 25 to September 27. Within South Korea there are two October holidays that can feed domestic demand: the substitute public holiday for National Foundation Day on October 5 and Hangeul Day on October 9.

Market positioning and customer mix

WanLi Jeju Casino operates as a foreigners-only facility on Jeju Island, South Korea, and the current product mix signals a focus on mass baccarat customers while preserving VIP capacity. The split of 30 baccarat tables with 18 for VIP indicates the operator expects a meaningful share of high-value play but is driving most seating toward mass-market demand.

The casino’s inclusion of Texas hold’em, blackjack and Niu Niu broadens its offering beyond baccarat and caters to a range of guests from recreational players to higher-frequency table-game customers.

Commercial considerations ahead of a grand opening

The operator is monitoring hotel room availability and guest-service consistency before committing to a grand opening date. Full availability of the Sheraton’s circa 400 keys is a central gating item. Mr Loi framed the approach as pragmatic: scale the casino launch only when the hotel can reliably host larger volumes of patrons, including those arriving for Golden Week and other October holidays.

This staged rollout also allows the operator to assess table demand in real time: the current 44-table setup provides a baseline for session length, average bet levels and VIP demand, all inputs that will inform when and how to expand operations.

Implications for Jeju and operators

Jeju remains a targeted market for outbound Chinese travel during peak holiday periods. By timing its full opening to the Sheraton’s improved guest-room availability, WanLi Jeju Casino seeks to capture both inbound Chinese holiday traffic during Golden Week and domestic demand around South Korea’s October public holidays.

Operators and suppliers watching this market should note the sequence: hotel readiness is being treated as an operational precondition for a casino grand opening. That makes coordination across hotel operations, room inventory systems and casino floor planning a practical pre-launch priority.

"We will wait until the Sheraton Jeju Hotel is running more smoothly before committing to a grand opening date," Vincent Loi, chief operating officer of WanLi Jeju Casino, told GGRAsia.

What to watch next

Key data points to monitor are the Sheraton Jeju Hotel's progress in bringing all guest rooms online, short-term booking trends over Golden Week (October 1–7, 2026), and any adjustment in the table mix or the number of active tables at WanLi following that period. Changes to VIP allocation or additions to non-baccarat product will signal a shift in targeting strategy.

For coverage of casino launches and property integrations, see industry reporting in the casino and news sections.